Blazing fire, raging wind
by Kou Shuurei-sama
Summary: Ayano is on yet another demon banishing mission, when misfortune befalls her …again. And Kazuma, of course, is there to make fun of her, but what happens when blazing fire meets raging wind? Placed after the end of the anime. One-shot. M rated (sexual content). Story written at request.


**A/N:** This story was written at a request, but I very much enjoyed writing it, because I love Kaze no Stigma and I always wished there was more going on between Ayano and Kazuma – they certainly had plenty of chemistry going on.

As the description says, this is an M-rated one-shot, placed after the end of the anime, and it depicts an ordinary demons banishing mission which goes awry for Ayano, only this time it leads to something that they both knew was inevitable – a clash of two forces of nature, fire vs. wind.

Reviews are always welcome!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Blazing fire, raging wind**

Ayano yawned as she dragged her unwilling feet towards the construction yard where an imp demon was said to have been terrorizing the workers for the past couple of days. It was way too early in the morning for exorcising demons, but being the next head of the Kannagi clan came with certain responsibilities, as her father – the current head of the clan – loved reminding her.

"Such an un-cute face", Kazuma commented with an ironic smirk on his very handsome face, which annoyed Ayano to no end.

In a second, all sleepiness left her and she was ready to do battle – just not with the demon… or rather, a different demon than her target.

"I don't remember asking you whether I was cute or not", she said hotly, her entire body being engulfed in bright hot flames.

"Wow, turn down the heat will you? Save that fiery anger for the demon you're about to face!"

"Exactly. The demon _I _am about to face – since you never do anything, you just let me do all the work and you get a fortune from my father for no reason whatsoever", Ayano said.

That wasn't exactly true, as Kazuma had saved her from a number of sticky situations that she'd gotten herself into. What was really irking her was the fact that Kazuma was paid to spend time with her.

Despite the thorny history between him and the Kannagi clan, Ayano thought that they'd moved past all that and she also felt like there was something there between Kazuma and her, and yet he always acted fiendishly with her, teasing her and whatnot, and it drove her crazy. And also the fact that he was asking money from his own family was the lowest of low.

"Come now, don't be like that. You know I'm your faithful bodyguard, right?" he parred, but it did nothing to calm Ayano.

There it was again, the teasing.

"Faithful is a questionable term when it comes to you", she said crossly. "And I'd rather you were something other than my _bodyguard_", Ayano muttered under her breath and quickly looked at Kazuma, who was smirking, looking very smug.

She hoped he hadn't heard that last part but it was too late to take it back.

"What was that?" he asked, though Ayano was now quite positive that he had heard every word and was just fishing to hear her say such mortifying words out loud.

"Oh, never mind, we've arrived", she said, and tried to ignore Kazuma – usually a futile quest – so that she could locate the demon that was wreaking havoc at that construction site, making it impossible for the workers to do their work.

"Good, everyone evacuated, just as I requested", Ayano said, as she closed in on the frame of the building which, when finished, was going to become yet another mall.

Exorcising demons was a nasty business and she didn't want any innocent bystanders to be caught in the fray – the reason she had been hired from the job in the first place was that several of the workers had injured themselves when attacked by this 'demon'.

The building was far from finished – only tall beams were erected, there were pipes everywhere and stacks of bricks and other building materials, and the air was permeated by concrete dust and its specific smell.

"Ew", Ayano said, as she noticed that she already had some dust on her school uniform.

"If you've already started complaining, I can only imagine what will come next – exorcising this demon is going to get messy, I thought you would have expected that given our location."

Ayano gritted her teeth, so as not to give him a cutting reply. He was such an insufferable know it all sometimes, acting like he was so high and mighty and better than everyone else… the only problem was that Kazuma was, pretty much, better than everyone else. After all, he was a Contractor, chosen by the Spirit King of the Wind himself.

The truth was, Ayano admired Kazuma, he was her role model, and she could only hope that one day she'd be as skilled at using fire as he was at using wind.

And her skills were about to be tested, because she spotted the demon: it was an imp type of demon, which in a way was a relief because it meant it wasn't very powerful, but given its mischievous ways, it could certainly cause quite some trouble.

"You there! Hold it!" she screamed while at the same time she clapped her hands together to summon her sword.

"Come forth, Enraiha!"

The fiery sword responded to her call and Ayano started running after the mirthful imp demon, which had let out a cackling laugh and had gone off into the building at a very high speed.

She only spared one second to look behind, to see if Kazuma was planning to assist her or, more likely, he was just going to stand there – and to her surprise he was following too, but at a very leisurely pace, his hands in his pockets, and he was even whistling a tune, like he had no cares in the world.

That pissed her off considerably, but she didn't have time to take it out on Kazuma – the demon was getting away!

Twenty minutes later, she sat down on a solid looking wooden plank, not even caring that it was covered in cement dust. She had been running after the demon to no avail – all she succeeded to do was to stumble over the various obstacles in her way: sacks of cement, pipes, all sort of wires and construction tools, and so on and so forth, and she was sweaty and tired and probably had about a hundred bruises on her legs, arms and possibly on her face too as she couldn't stop herself from falling to the ground a couple of times – face first, of course.

It certainly didn't help that Kazuma was always there to make fun of her. She hated the fact that she always looked so uncool in front of him, and although she sensed that he wasn't laughing of her in a mean way, it still made her feel like a little kid, when he always seemed so cool and collected and so much more mature than she was.

"Giving up already?" the object of her musings spoke up, ironic as usual.

"Shut up Kazuma! Or better yet, tell me where the demon is, surely you can sense it! So make yourself useful for a change!" She used a bit more spite than usual, because she still resented how Kazuma made fun of her each time she stumbled and fell flat on her face.

"Fine, I'll tell you, but I doubt you'll like it."

"Why?" Ayano asked, suspicion clear in her voice.

"Well, because the demon's hiding inside that big pipe over there…"

* * *

Kazuma laughed as he heard Ayano groan – apparently the Kannagi princess wasn't very eager to test the plumbing.

The imp demon was a very low level one, and Kazuma could have dispensed with it in a second, but he enjoyed watching Ayano squirm – she was adorable! Not that he ever said as much to her, because another thing he enjoyed was keeping her on her toes.

He suddenly remembered that the first time he saw her since he returned to Japan was at a different construction site, when she thought he had killed two of the Kannagi clan members.

He had been taken aback then, seeing her with Enraiha, realizing who she was – the little girl who had defeated him all those years ago, when they had faced each other in order to decide who was the rightful inheritor of the sacred flaming sword of the Kannagi clan.

One thing had been clear to him: she wasn't a little girl anymore. He had taken in and admired her slim, long, shapely legs, and the promise of a generously shaped chest hidden under her school uniform. He was enchanted by her long red hair and her eyes that sparkled with pure flames.

If he were honest with himself, he'd admit that the moment he saw her and realized who she was, he felt a jolt in his heart, something that told him that perhaps it was time to let go of the tragedies in his past and try to move on towards a future where there would be plenty of happiness.

"Isn't this nostalgic?" he asked, as he watched her gather her courage to get inside the dusty pipe.

"What is?" she asked, one knee propped up on the pipe, which provided him with a very good view of her leg and for a moment he was sorely tempted to just go to her and touch her the way he had wished to for quite some time now.

"The fact that the two of us are back at a construction site, just like that time we were reunited after those years I spent in exile."

He saw a look of recognition pass across her face, followed closely by an expression of grief and he silently cursed himself for his carelessness. He forgot that she lost two persons she cared about that day. To Kazuma, their deaths hadn't made that much of an impression, because he was at odds with most of the members of the Kannagi clan, not to mention that after losing the person he cared most for in the world, Tsui Ling, other deaths just didn't faze him so much anymore. He knew that cold detachment wasn't exactly healthy, but he had changed since then and, he realized now more than ever, that it was Ayano who had changed him for the better.

But as for her, the day of their reunion was stained by those deaths and Kazuma wished he'd remembered that before letting those words come out of his mouth.

But then Kazuma saw a small smile form on Ayano's lush lips.

"Now that you mentioned it, yes, you're right – the setting was similar back then", she said and she also whispered something else, something that she probably meant only for the wind to hear, but as it happened, Kazuma could catch every single word.

What she said was "_something good to make up for the bad_".

It was his turn to smile, knowing that she considered their meeting as something good.

"Now's not the time for it though, the demon's escaping!" she said and then entered the big dirty pipe without a second thought.

Kazuma didn't enter the pipe after her – instead he watched her crawl through it, admiring how much her legs were showing. In fact, her skirt was so short he could partially see her panties, white as usual. He'd have to do something about that: Kazuma doubted she'd say no to a gift, even if that gift consisted of sexy lingerie.

He kept on watching her as she made her way through the pipe, but then she suddenly stopped and he almost voiced his discontent aloud. Her movements were so sexy, Kazuma wished he could watch her a while longer, because she usually lacked in femininity and charm.

"I can't believe it!" she said incredulously.

"What is it?" Kazuma asked, genuinely curious.

"I'm… I'm stuck", she finally admitted, albeit reluctantly.

"You're what?" he asked, not quite believing what he was hearing.

"Stuck! S-T-U-C-K, stuck!" she screamed at him, as if it were his fault that she got herself in such a predicament.

He circled over to the front to admire her angry face for a change. She was so comical sometimes.

"How on earth did you manage it?" he asked, trying hard to keep his voice neutral and his face impassive, so that she wouldn't guess how much fun he was having at her expense at the moment.

"Well, it's not exactly rocket science, is it?" she asked bitingly, not knowing that Kazuma was well aware that her bark was worse than her bite – and also that he found her 'bark' really cute. "I followed that imp demon through the pipe and when it finally flew out of it and away, I tried to do the same only to find myself stuck. I mean, this pipe is uneven, who uses uneven pipes for building stuff?!"

Kazuma couldn't hold it in any longer, he laughed heartedly, ignoring Ayano's enraged screams.

But then he saw her call forth Enraiha, and that was definitely not a good idea.

"Don't use your sword, or you might burn to death!", he warned.

"Enjutsu User don't burn to death, OK? You're the only failure in our clan who might, so don't go comparing me to you!", Ayano said, but her words didn't even sting.

Kazuma no longer cared about not being able to use fire, like the rest of the Kannagis. He was more than proficient with his wind and could take any of them on and win.

"You might not get burnt by fire, but what about melted steel and concrete? I don't think you'd like to get that on you because that might very well burn you."

She let out an exasperated sigh and wriggled some more, futilely trying to get out of the pipe.

"I think you're only making it worse with all that wriggling, but by all means, go ahead, if you really think it'll help", Kazuma said, amused to no ends by Ayano's antics.

"Argh, I can't believe how unlucky I am! First I'm getting teased by this horrible imp demon who led me on a merry chase, making me stumble all over this dratted construction site, and now I'm being teased by you! I don't even know which is worse. Wait, I do know, you're worse, because it's in demons' nature to do evil things, but you're supposed to be different."

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not", Kazuma teased.

"So are you just going to continue teasing me or do you have any helpful suggestions?"

"As a matter of fact I do have an idea", he said calmly, knowing that his tone of voice will only annoy her more.

"_Well_?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"I'm going to use my wind blades to try to cut up the pipe and get you out."

"Why, _thank you_, how awfully nice of you!" she said, voice dripping with irony, but Kazuma didn't mind her – he wasn't quite done yet.

"Don't thank me – I'm only doing what I was paid to do. I wouldn't want your father to stop giving me those generous amounts of cash."

She screamed in frustration but Kazuma ignored her and decided to have fun for a little while longer.

So instead of cutting up the pipe lengthwise, he carefully cut it crosswise, so that Ayano was still very much stuck, only now her behind and her legs were exposed for him to see, and what a view it was!

"Hmmm", he said, false concern in his voice, "that didn't work out like I thought it would."

"You think?!" Ayano asked, and now there was a hint of desperation in her voice, but that didn't stop her from kicking her legs wildly, which someone in a short skirt should never do, but Kazuma wasn't going to point that out, he was enjoying the show much too much.

"Well, I could try cutting more of the pipe, but I'm afraid that I'd cut you along with it."

"Cut me along with it? Just what I needed!"

"Now, now, play nicely or I won't bother trying to find a way to get you out of there", Kazuma said, though he had to be careful when he spoke to try and sound normal, because all of her wriggling had had the effects of arousing his passion and his voice was thick with it. And it wasn't only his voice that was getting uncomfortably thick.

However, the situation presented far too many possibilities for him not to take full advantage of. So despite his discomfort, he came closer to her, and yet a bit to her side, so that she wouldn't accidentally – or on purpose – hit him with her kicking legs.

"Let's see… maybe this will work?" he remarked and then with no further ado he placed his palms firmly on her buttocks, giving her a mighty push – and in the process feeling her up.

"Where the hell do you think you're touching?" Ayano yelled at him, kicking her legs even more wildly than before.

"I'm touching the spot that is most likely to get you unstuck given the proper push", Kazuma commented casually, though he had no choice but to remove his hands from her well rounded buttocks.

"But maybe that wasn't the best spot", he said, feigning concern and thoughtfulness.

So he touched her again, this time placing his hands on her thighs, reveling in the creamy feel of her warm skin and squeezing lightly before he pushed one more time, even though he knew full well that it wasn't going to yield any results.

"Stop touching me in weird places!" Ayano shouted, and Kazuma regretfully removed his hands again. It wouldn't do to antagonize her too much – she was already at boiling point if the heat coming off of her in waves was any indication. Besides, Kazuma didn't want her being too cross with him, because with the state he was in, he knew he'd had to do something about it, and he only wanted to do that something with "Ayano". So he came up with a plan that was sure to work out wonderfully.

It meant letting her go off easy for now, but he had better things in store for later that night.

"All right then, I guess I'll just have to risk cutting that pipe", he observed and before she could utter one word of concern or protest, he used his wind blasts to cut the pipe clean in half – lengthwise this time, but at the same time, for his own amusement, he did use some extra wind blades to cut Ayano's uniform in a couple of key points.

That's how it was that when she finally stood up from the wrecked pipe, her school uniform fell to the ground, leaving her in her white lingerie and allowing Kazuma to admire her body from head to toe.

Unfortunately, he only got a bit of a glimpse, because Ayano immediately dropped down, hugging her knees with her arms, making it impossible for him to see much of anything anymore.

She looked like she was about to cry, which was definitely NOT what Kazuma intended. He only meant to tease her a bit, he didn't want her to really get upset. So he quickly took off his jacket and dropped it over Ayano's shoulders, and she clung to it as if it were a life vest.

He offered his arm to lift her up, vowing that in the evening he'd make it up to her – and all through the night too, if he had his way, which he usually did.

* * *

Ayano took the offered arm, but only reluctantly, because although she had endured humiliation before in her life – mostly at the hands of Kazuma – it had never been quite like that. She was close to tears and she felt utterly mortified, and the fact that she was finally unstuck didn't do much to appease her, given her current state of undress.

Just at that moment, out of the corner of her eye she saw the imp demon approaching her fast.

That was the last drop.

In a split second she had Enraiha in her hands and she dealt a fatal blow to the demon, which dissipated as if it had never been there in the first place.

She felt a moment of satisfaction at her swift exorcism, but then her foul mood returned tenfold.

When Kazuma had touched her she had felt an electric shock go throughout her body and it was like she was tingling from head to toe. The feeling had been exquisite and she had the mad urge to ask him to never remove his hands, but of course, she couldn't do that so she let her temper do the talking instead.

But now she felt bereft and longed to feel his touch again – and it made her feel self-loathing because it looked like she was the only one affected by it all, Kazuma always remained so infuriatingly cool.

"Aw, come on, cheer up, you did what you came here to do – you finished off the demon!" Kazuma said, but his words only made Ayano even more depressed. If Kazuma was trying to be nice, it meant she made a pretty lame picture.

"How's this? I'll take you home where you can take a shower and change into something … more appropriate…"

She kicked his arm at that comment, but he wasn't done yet, and her interest was piqued.

"And then I'll take you out – anywhere you want to go, and I'll even treat you to lunch AND dinner – wherever you like, how's that?"

Ayano immediately perked up when she heard his offer – eating out on Kazuma's money was one of her favorite things to do and especially if she could go to a nice place where they'd have plenty of delicious deserts.

But this time it wasn't the sweets that she was most excited about. What really thrilled her was that Kazuma offered to spend the day together with her, which sort of sounded like a date to her. Finally, he was willing to spend time with her without being paid to do so – and what's more, offering to pay for her food too.

It was an offer too good to refuse and all thoughts of embarrassment were erased in a second.

"Fine, then, let's do that", she eagerly agreed.

But then Kazuma wrapped his arm around her waist and although the feeling was delicious, she immediately panicked.

"Whhhhat are you doing?" she asked, hating the fact that her voice trembled and that he had such a strong effect on her.

"I have to hold on tight or I might drop you and you wouldn't want that, would you? Mind you, this isn't pleasant for me, you're covered in dust and you've gotten dust all over my nice clothes too."

She tried punching him, but failed miserably because just then he flew them away in a whirlwind and before she knew what was happening, Kazuma deposited her right at the entrance of her room.

"I'll go report to the Soshu that you've successfully completed your mission and I'll also collect my payment for assisting you – I get the feeling I'll need all the money I can get if I'm to spend the day with you."

Ayano smirked but said nothing, because her intention was exactly that – to bleed him dry of every last penny he took from her father, when he should have been helping the family for free.

"Let's meet outside the gate in …say…half an hour?"

She nodded and then hurried inside, as she really wanted to get all the dust off of her.

The shower worked miracles, and Ayano felt completely refreshed and ready for a perfect day with Kazuma. The only problem was that she had to decide what to wear.

She had a couple of cute outfits, but the thing was that she didn't want to look like she was trying to impress him, though that was exactly what she was doing.

In the end she settled for a navy blue knee length one piece dress that was backless and had spaghetti straps – that should say sexy and mature. Even Kazuma couldn't accuse her of being a kid or of not being feminine in such a dress. The dress was perhaps a bit much given that it was still early in the day, but she planned on making him tag along until late in the evening.

Ayano had just put on the dress and shoes (navy blue medium high heels) when her cell phone rang. It was Kazuma.

"Yes?" Ayano asked hesitantly. Was it possible that he changed his mind and didn't want to spend the day with her after all?

"Those thirty minutes have come and gone and you're nowhere in sight. How long do you intend to keep me waiting?"

Ayano hadn't realized it was so late, and she immediately felt bad for not being on time. She had a feeling that mature people were, generally speaking, punctual, and it was probably a quality that Kazuma liked in other people. If she wanted to impress, she definitely started on the wrong foot.

"Um... sorry, I didn't realize it was already time to go – I'll be there in five minutes!" Ayano quickly said, hoping she'd have time to properly comb her long hair.

Somehow she made it, and could only keep her fingers crossed for Kazuma not to see how flustered she was already.

It turned out she had no reason to worry: Kazuma acted pretty much like the perfect gentleman, well, with the occasional teasing of course, but still, Ayano was quite taken with this version of him.

They took a long nice walk in the park, even a – romantic – boat ride on the lake, they had a delicious lunch and an even better dinner at restaurants of Ayano's choosing, all in all it was a perfect day.

But come the night, Kazuma lead her to his hotel room, of all places.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest – a gesture that attracted Kazuma's eyes to said chest, she didn't fail to notice. She could feel herself blushing.

"Isn't it a bit too late to worry about that? You're already inside", he said lightly.

That gave her pause, and he took advantage of it to advance towards her and took her hands in his.

"You do remember what I told you just before we entered Pandemonium to face Bernhardt? That you'd better be prepared for what's coming."

Ayano blushed furiously at that, because although at the moment there hadn't been time to analyze his words and understand their meaning, she had twisted and turned the words around in her mind again and again afterwards and she did know perfectly well what he meant.

"I remember. I'm sorry. I'm just—"

"Scared. Don't be." His lips brushed hers and Ayano was left speechless for a moment, as a shiver of pleasure went throughout her body. But she couldn't let her senses be overwhelmed. She needed to make sure first.

"How could I not? You had something special with Tsui Ling and now there's that Lapis to consider…." Ayano trailed off, knowing that her insecurities were showing, but she really couldn't go further into this relationship with Kazuma unless he gave her some reassurance first.

Kazuma's lips brushed hers again. He was so close that her heart was racing. "You know full well that I put the past behind me, and that I've embraced the present". As he said that, he hugged her to him, and feeling his body pressed so close to hers made Ayano feel like she was truly alive for the first time in her life. "You're the one, nobody else", Kazuma whispered in her ear and those words finally made her understand that he was indeed serious about her.

She couldn't stop her eyes from slipping shut when his mouth finally landed on hers full force. Kazuma kissed her with a gentle precision that made it seem as if he was born to do nothing but this. His lips were soft but firm, his mouth so very skilled that it made her feel lightheaded and like she couldn't think one rational thought again even if her life depended on it.

But she did get a rude sort of awakening when his hand slipped under the décolletage of her dress, pushing against the cup of her bra.

Ayano pulled back, gasping for breath. "H..h..hey…" she protested weakly, but Kazuma would have none of it.

"What? Don't tell me that the future head of the Kannagi clan is getting scared and wants to back off now", he teased as he leaned down, burying his head in the arch of her neck.

Ayano could never turn down a challenge, so she arched up towards him, making herself more accessible for his touches.

"You're shameless", she said, because of course he knew her so well that he knew exactly what to say to get his way.

"And you love it!" he fired back, and Ayano didn't say anything anymore because the fact was, she did love it – what's more, she loved _him._

He laughed as if he knew exactly what she was thinking and he pulled her face to his for another long and ardent kiss.

* * *

Tonight would be their first night together, Kazuma was determined to make it so. And he wanted it to be a good one – in fact, a perfect one, to set the tone for all the others that he intended would follow.

He took Ayano in his arms, carrying her to the bed and once he deposited her in the middle, Kazuma took his time taking her clothes off, caressing her body often, not just to make her feel more at ease, but because he genuinely couldn't help touching her – and her reactions were priceless, she tried to protest but ended up moaning and melting under his fingers, under his lips, under his tongue.

Kazuma even used his teeth – albeit gently – on certain key spots on Ayano's neck, as well as on her ear lobe, something which she seemed to enjoy immensely.

As for what he enjoyed, well he enjoyed everything they did together, but especially the part where he took her breasts in his mouth, one at a time, circling each nipple with his tongue, pushing them and probing them until they became fully erect, and Ayano was arching her back off the bed, silently begging for more.

He loved how she gave herself to him with such total abandon, so he took what she offered and his mouth went to her navel next, and the way he touched her made Ayano let out a gasp and then another as Kazuma kissed a trail down to her hip, then made a line slowly toward her core.

"Wait… where…" Ayano started to say but she didn't get much further than that because then his tongue slipped inside the slit between her legs and then he could feel her first orgasm rolling through her. She cried out, and Kazuma was surprised by how hard that made him – he almost came just by witnessing her come.

He kissed her on the lips, watching her eyes widen when she tasted herself on his mouth, and then he pressed his slick tip at her entrance, knowing he could only last precious little time before he'd explode with his imperious need for her.

"This is probably going to hurt a bit – I wish I could avoid that, but it's only going to happen this once, then it'll be OK… better than OK, I hope", he added ruefully.

He had every intention to enter her slowly, in an attempt to give her time to adjust to him, but once he felt how tight and warm she was, he lost all conscious thought and pushed all the way through her barrier and to the very edge of her womb.

Ayano cried out again, but this time obviously in pain, but it was just once, and then she wrapped her arms around his neck, and wrapped her legs around his waist, which pleased him immensely, and not just because that way he was pushed even further into her (although at that point he didn't see how he could go further, they were united so closely). He was also very pleased that even though it was he who had hurt her, Ayano still chose him for solace.

"Are you OK?" he asked, worried, but she nodded vigorously.

He wasn't sure that Ayano wasn't simply trying to put on a brave face, so he tentatively retreated from her only to push back in. Her inner walls clenched over him and she made a small sound that, to his ears, sounded like it was pleasure, not pain.

So he moved again, and then again and soon Ayano was matching his pace, her body arching against his, meeting his every thrust, and although the pleasure was intense, he fought the urge to close his eyes, because he wanted to commit to memory every single expression that crossed against Ayano's face as they made love.

The harder he thrust into her, the closer Ayano was to coming again. Kazuma knew that the same tension that moved through his body moved through hers too, and this time when he exploded inside her, she exploded with him, and it was as if a blazing fire met a raging wind, two forces of nature colliding and creating something out of this world.

Kazuma had pressed his forehead to hers when they came, and it could have been a minute or an eternity before he came back to his senses, but when he did, he took her in his arms and smiled down at Ayano, landing small kisses on her face, to convey his feelings for her.

However, Kazuma felt a bit guilty about taking her so violently, so he tried to test the waters and lighten the mood by joking.

"I did warn you that I'm selfish and greedy, didn't I?" Kazuma asked slyly, while tracing caressing patterns on her arm with his fingers.

"You did, but like you said, I love it." She drew a deep breath and then voiced out loud something that he instinctively knew, but never would have expected that she would actually admit. "I love _you_."

Kazuma's heart started beating wildly in response to her candid words.

"I know", he answered smugly just to get a rise out of her, and, of course, Ayano reached out to slap his face, but of course Kazuma was faster and he caught her wrist, placing a kiss there.

His face turned serious then. "I love you too. I didn't think it would be possible to feel this way after the tragedy in my past, but you've rekindled the fire in me."

Kazuma knew Ayano suffered from a lack of self-confidence sometimes, so it was very important to state his feelings out loud, so that she wouldn't have to wonder. Usually he liked to keep her guessing, but given the fact that she had just confessed her feelings for him, it wouldn't do to play mind games. Her brave honesty deserved honesty in return.

And it turned out that his own confession paid off, because Ayano's eyes sparkled when she heard his words, and then she suddenly grabbed his face and kissed him.

Intrigued about what she would do next, Kazuma kissed her back for all he was worth but didn't do anything else once they stopped to catch their breaths. Ayano, however, was clearly in the mood to regain control, so she trailed kisses all over his chest, teasing his nipples with her fingers, and Kazuma thought that even if he didn't use fire magic like the rest of the Kannagi clan, he could feel fire inside of him when he was with Ayano.

When she inserted her tongue in his belly button Kazuma felt himself grow harder than he'd ever been before, but when she tried to go lower than that, he had to make the supreme effort to stop her.

He caught her hands and dragged her back up, flush against his chest.

"What?" she asked, almost belligerently.

"While I appreciate the intention, if you do any more than what you've already done, I won't be able to stop myself and I don't want to hurt you again."

"But you won't hurt me,I know you won't!" she protested and then blushed becomingly when she realized what she was saying.

"Well, I sure am glad that you say so, because it means you truly did enjoy our lovemaking, but I'm sure you must still be sore – I'm sorry I wasn't more gentle with you before BUT", he said pointedly, when Ayano tried to protest again, "I am going to make up for that by letting you rest and recover now. We have all the time in the world for more later on."

He realized that he wasn't saying that just to placate Ayano – they did, in fact, have the rest of their lives to enjoy each other, and he couldn't wait to get more of her, but all in good time.

"The Soshu will be quite pleased to learn of how much our relationship progressed", Kazuma added to lighten the conversation.

"Father will?" Ayano asked, clueless.

"So you really had no idea that he's been trying to get us together for ages? Unbelievable!"

In fact, it wasn't that unbelievable, because Ayano was pretty much air headed, especially about this type of machinations, because her nature was pretty honest and direct.

"He has?!" Ayano's temper was visibly rising, as her body gave off heat and there seemed to be a red shimmer all around her.

"Calm down, you know he only did it because he wants what's best for you", Kazuma said coolly, but his words seemed to add fuel to the fire.

"You mean you're the best? 'Modest' as usual, Kazuma! But I bet that's what my father thinks, and it's you he's really after, not my happiness. He just wants to have you helping the Kannagi clan."

"He loves you, I know you know that!"

Those words finally seemed to get through to Ayano, and with one last mighty sigh, she let go of her anger and settled more comfortably in his embrace, her head resting on his chest, her palm spread out on his stomach.

"I do know that, sorry for getting so worked up over it, I just didn't think my father could be so…. manipulative"

_You have no idea_, Kazuma thought, remembering the various times Ayano's father had tried to get them together.

"Let's call it resourceful – it's a quality I'd say is needed in order to make a good head of clan", Kazuma observed in a conciliatory tone.

"Perhaps, but right now I don't want to think about my responsibilities as the next head of the Kannagi clan. At the moment, all I want to do is stay like this with you."

"Funny, that's exactly what I want to do as well", Kazuma said, kissing her lightly on the nose. He was thrilled that she no longer jumped away from him each time he got close, because he planned to get really close, real often.

He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Ayano's body pressed close to his, knowing that from now on, he'll get to feel her next to him all the time, or at least he sure hoped so. Ayano was as unpredictable as fire itself, but that was a challenge Kazuma was happy to take on, knowing that with her, life would never be boring.

* * *

Ayano still couldn't quite believe what had just happened, but she was so glad for it! It hadn't been easy for her to give herself to Kazuma, especially when he knew he'd had Tsui Ling as a lover before, but she also knew that if he were to stay focused on the present and on a possible future with her, then she needed to show her commitment.

Telling Kazuma that she loved him had been, if possible, even more difficult than making love to him, but then he told her he returned her feelings, and everything in Ayano's world was right and perfect.

She couldn't ask for anything more, and yet she did want to make sure about a couple of things.

"Just to be clear though – you still want to get your revenge on Bernhardt for killing Tsui Ling, right? And you won't let Lapis get in the way?"

He sighed and Ayano hoped she hadn't ruined the mood with her questions.

"I won't let her get in the way – she's not Tsui Ling, and if I want to defeat Bernhardt, it's not even for revenge anymore. It's just that I can't let him get away with what he's done, nor can I let him do any more harm. You saw what he almost did with Pandemonium."

Ayano was glad of that answer. She couldn't idly stand by and let Bernhardt get his way either, but at least now she knew that Kazuma was on the same page with her.

"I did, and he must indeed be stopped… but definitely not tonight."

Ayano closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being flush against Kazuma's body, knowing that from now on, she'll get to feel him next to her a lot, because she didn't think she could stay away from him now that she'd had a taste of what closeness was like.

The future was bright, because she had met a partner that matched her perfectly, whom she loved and trusted and with whom she knew she was going to be very happy indeed. Kazuma could be a bit of a bully, and they'd already established he had other flaws too, but Ayano was happy to take on the challenge of being with him, because she knew that with Kazuma, life would never be boring.

**THE END**


End file.
